In July 2014, a group of 39 undergraduate students traveled to Cape Town, South Africa as part of an intensive five-week field study in social entrepreneurship. We partnered with the Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA), a non-profit college in Cape Town that strives to educate the next generation of business leaders through innovative and socially beneficial means. For two weeks Northeastern and TSiBA students studied the framework and concepts of social enterprise and participated in discussions and site visits to local businesses. Finally we worked with entrepreneurs from township communities on a micro-business consultation project.
Despite each student bringing different skillsets and experiences, the goal remained the same – consult with your entrepreneur to help grow their business. Two out of nearly 30 entrepreneurs stood out for their hard work and dedication toward the success of their businesses. Sandile Bokfela of Mfuleni Boxing Academy and Sibabalwe of Ubuhle Clothing and Design were rewarded with a grant from the Social Enterprise Institute to jumpstart their operations.
Mfuleni Boxing Academy
The Mfuleni Boxing Academy was started by Bokfela to provide the youth in the Mfuleni community a safe, supportive, and structured environment. Bokfela had previously been a boxer. After retirement, he started a school to teach youth the art of boxing. He sought to emphasize the elements of respect, self-discipline and passion that grow organically in the high-intensity sport. Bokfela’s passion for boxing was evident and he did a wonderful job of connecting with the community. He had about 30 students in total, and a core team of ten that were competing at the provincial or national level. In fact, Bokfela trained the current Eastern Cape Lightweight Champion and the Western Province Flyweight Champion from his academy.
Our consulting group focused on the Academy’s financial sustainability. Bokfela did not want to charge his students for tuition, so we sought alternative ways of generating revenue. Due to his success in training champions, Bokfela aimed to acquire new clientele willing to pay market price for his services. The profits from training would go toward supporting the Academy. The other opportunity for revenue we found stemmed from the Academy’s costs. Every time a competition was held, Bokfela was forced to rent a boxing ring and pay a third party for transportation, which drained the Academy’s funds. If Bokfela had a boxing ring, he would no longer incur those costs. He could rent out the ring, treating it as a revenue generating asset of the company. Both strategies would take the Mfuleni Boxing Academy from a struggling non-profit to a staple organization in the community.
Today, Bokfela is actively looking to purchase a boxing ring at the right price. He was recently hired as a personal trainer and five of his students will be competing in the Provincial Games. If they claim victories, his students will be eligible to compete at the Bloemfontein National Competition.
Ubuhle Clothing and Design
Ubuhle Clothing and Design is a custom clothing design company. Entrepreneur, Sibabalwe, is a fashion designer who works on designing custom orders for her clients. She focuses mainly on dresses and traditional garments for special events, such as weddings, holiday parties, and matriculation balls. Although Sibabalwe is a talented designer with consistent clients, she struggled with the technical aspects of her business. In the two years that Ubuhle operated, Sibabalwe was unaware of the financial details of her business, including profits and costs. She needed marketing materials, specifically a logo and business cards that she could use to develop her brand and attract new clients. She aimed to move Ubuhle’s operations out of her home and into a communal office space to help attract a wider variety of clientele. One of the greatest assets to Ubuhle is Sibabalwe accompanies her clients when purchasing their own fabric. This allows her to minimize costs and reap profit from almost all of her revenue.
Following the work of our student consulting group, Ubuhle Clothing and Design was equipped with a complete marketing plan, including a logo design, business cards, a Facebook page, and a simple website, as well as a user-friendly document for tracking finances. With these two plans in place, we hoped to help Sibabalwe increase her brand recognition and measure the effectiveness of her existing work. The short-term results have been promising, including an increase in the number of new clients.
Throughout our time in South Africa, Bokfel and Sibabalwe stood out as truly exceptional entrepreneurs. While the Western culture often associates entrepreneurship with grandiose ideas or world- changing innovations, entrepreurship can be used as a tool for survival. Bokfele and Sibabalwe faced challenges that many South African entrepreneurs do but tackled them with determination and fearlessness. We understand now that an entrepreneurial spirit can take many forms and believe intensely in the potential of entrepreneurs like Bokfela and Sibabalwe and their ability to succeed.
